To be or not to be - that is the question facing the Democratic Party.
Seen as being caught between a rock and a hard place over negotiations with Beijing on democratisation, the party is weighing up alternatives if assurances it has demanded for the introduction of 'genuine' universal suffrage cannot be met. And there is no guarantee that the two sides will even sit down together. Beneath accommodating gestures made by the Hong Kong government, which sees the party as a long-time opponent, no one is convinced an accord will be reached anytime soon on the electoral system for 2012.
A party leader privately admitted that the Democrats have been walking a tightrope - keen not to be seen as being too accommodating towards the government, but on the other hand not appearing too radical and thereby risking any chance of talks with Beijing.
'We really have a headache,' the leader said. 'Have you seen how we are attacked from all sides? When we take a moderate and pragmatic route to negotiate for the ultimate introduction of genuine universal suffrage, we are criticised for making U-turns.'
In the latest twist in the saga, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung will today make an unprecedented visit to the Democratic Party headquarters, during which he will discuss constitutional reform.
This comes as all members of the pan-democrats are set to be invited to visit the World Expo, which opens in Shanghai on May 1. This is seen as a goodwill gesture by Beijing designed to woo moderate democrats to support a final reform proposal to be put to a vote in the Legislative Council before July.
